Controller for intersecting conveyers



L. G. TINGWALL AND A. J. JOHNSON. .CONTROLLER FOR INTERSECTINGCONVEYERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 192]. Q

1 ,425,556 Patented Aug. 15, 1922.

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T iriiarkm 072 L. G. TINGWALL AND A. J. JOHNSON. CONTROLLER FORINTERSECTING CONVEYERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, I921.

Patented Aug. 15,1922.

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. a r g JV'QZZ, .272/507'1217572 man. 32 Z LLOYD G. TING-WALL AND ARTHURJ". JOHNSON, OF ST. PA

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UL, MINNESOTA,.ASSIGNORS TO STANDARD CONVEYOR COMPANY, A CORPORATION OFMINNESOTA.

CONTROLLER FOR INTEBSECTING CON VEYERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1922.

Application filed May 1921, Serial No. 467,103.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LLOYD G. TINGWALL and ARTHUR J. JOHNSON, citizensof the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey andState of Minnesota, 7

have invented new and useful Improvements in Controllers forIntersecting Convelyers, of which the following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to provide efficient means forcontrolling the travel of packages over a plurality of intersectingpower conveyers.

lWIore particularly it is our object to provide means for preventingcongestion or jamming on a main or trunk line conveyer at theintersection of said main line with feeding or auxiliary conveyers.

Other objects of our invention will appear and be more fully pointed outin the following specification and claims.

The drawings, forming a part of this specification, illustrate what weat present believe to be the best form of our device butit will-bereadily understood that modifications are possible within the spirit ofour invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of ourimproved controlling mechanism as it is used on a conveyer system; Fig.2 is a side elevation of the power end of our device, the gearing beingindicated in dotted lines for clearness; Fig. 3 is a section taken onthe line 33 of Figure 1 and Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of one of thecams.

Our improved controller, as illustrated, is mounted upon a conveyersystem consisting of a main or trunk line belt 1 and three auxiliarybelts 2, 3 and 4 arranged to deliver packages or the like to the belt 1.The latter belt pases around drums 5 and 6 at its ends, is driven by thedrum 5 and isprovided with a take-up roller 7 near said drum 5.

The belts 2, 3 and4 aremounted at their ends on drums 8 and 9, beingdriven by the drums 8 and the upper run of each of the belts 1, 2, 3 and4 is supported by a trough 10 having upwardly projecting sides 11.

- 13, the lower ends of which are connected by These sides form guidesfor packages on the belts. The troughs 10 are supported by legstransverse braces 14. y The drums 8 are severally revoluble one.continuous shaft 15, which is supported 1n bearings 16, and each of saiddrums is provided at one end with a cylindrical extension 17 havingnotchesin its end adjacent to a clutch member 18. These clutch.membersare slidable longitudinally on the shaft but are provided with keys soas to rotate wlth said shaft. Longitudinal movement. is imparted to theclutch members .18, by levers 19 which are formed with yokes 20 v(havingstuds 2]. in their ends) arranged to engage said member 18 in an annulargroove 22. The levers 19 are pivotally mounted by means of pins 23 uponbrackets 24 and the latter brackets are in turn mounted upon thetransverse braces 14 of the belt support. Teeth 18*, formed to engagethe notches in the extension 17, are provided on the end of the clutchmember 18 and said teeth are resiliently held in engagement with saidnotches by springs 25 which are severally connected at one end to thebraces 14 and at the other end to the levers 19.

Rods 26, 27 and 28 severally connect the ends of the levers 19, adjacentto the spring 25, to the lower .ends of a series of substantiallyvertical levers 29. The latter levers are pivotally mounted upon a pin30 1n brackets 31 and said brackets are rigidly mounted on a frameconsisting of horizontal angle irons 32, 33 and 34 and vertical angleirons 35 and 36. The levers 29 are arranged to be actuated by three cams3T rigidly mounted upon a horizontal shaft 38. This shaft is revolublein bearings 39 on the members 32 of the frame and a sprocket gear 40,fasfi on one end of said shaft is arranged to be driven by a chain 41. Asmall sprocket gear 42 fast on a shaft 43, drives the chain 41 and agear 44 is also rigidly mounted on the shaft 43 and arranged to bedriven by a pinion 45 on a shaft 46. The shaft 46 extends transverselythrough the frame, being journalled in brackets 47 on the members 33,and said shaft'passes axially through the large drum 5 (said drum beingfast on said shaft) for driving the belt 1. A large gear 48, secured tothe shaft 46 on its end opposite the pinion 45, is arranged to bedriven. by a pinion 49 on a shaft 50 which extends through the frameparallel with the shaft 46. Journal bearings 51 support the shaft 50upon the members 33 of the frame; a gear 52 is mounted on the end with abeveled gear 53. The

the opposite end of said shaft is provided gear 52 1s driven by a pinion54 on a shaft 55 directly above the shaft and the latter shaft isjournalled in bearings 56 mounted on the upper surface of one of themembers 32' and on an extension 57 of the frame. A pulley 58 is designedto be driven by a belt from a suitable motor, being rigidly mounted onthe end of the shaft opposite the pinion 54.

The shaft 15, for drivingthe belts 2, 3 and 4, is operatively connectedto'the beveled gear 53 as follows; a shaft 59, journalled in suitablebearings on the upper surface of the projection 57 of the frame, issupplied near one end with a beveled gear 60 which meshes with the gear53 and theopposite end of said shaft is provided with a pinion 61 fordriving a gear 62 on the end of the shaft 15.

The take-up drum 7 is provided to adjust the tension in the main belt 1andis mounted on a shaft 63 in journal bearings 64. These bearings 64are slidahle between guides 65 and arranged to be held in any desiredposi tion between said guidesv by screws 66. These screws are threadedin supports 67 mounted on the horizontal angle irons 33 of the frame;the-upper ends of said screws are secured in the bearings 64, and theirlowerends are formed so as to be-turned by a suitable wrench.

Operation.

In operation'the pulley 58 is continually of said belt in the directionindicated by an arrow in Figure 1. The shaft 15 is also continuallydriven through the gears 62 and 61, the shaft 59 and the gears 60 and 53from the shaft 50.

y our improved controller the auxiliary belts 2, 3 and 4 aresuccessively caused to deliver packages to the belt 1, only one of saidauxiliary belts being operated at a time. successivel disen gmg' theseveral clutches 18 from thg As the shaft 46, carrying the drum 5rotates, the cams 37 are .slowl turned through the gears 45 and 44, thes aft 43, the sprocket'42, the chain 41, the sprocket 40 and the shaft38. The cams 37 are so ositioned on the shaft 38 that the ripper en ofthe levers 29' will be successively actuated by the high portions ofsaid cams, The springs 25 hold the upper ends ofthe levers 29 in contactwith the periph-.

lever 29 moves from the higher to: the lower surface of the adjacent cam37, the rod 26, 27 or 28, connected to said lever, will be Thisoperation is' accomplished by moved, together with one of the levers 19by one of the springs 25 to engage oneof the clutches 18 with theadjacent drum 8 and thereby drive-one of the belts 2, 3 or 4. -When theupper end of each of the levers 29 moves from the lower to the highersurface of the adjacent cam 37, the clutch 18 in connection with saidlever will be withdrawn from engagement with the adjacent drum 8 to stopthe auxiliary belt 0 erated by said drum. Thus, in operation t e belt 2is driven and the belts 3 and 4 are stopped during a predetermined partof a revolu tion of the shaft 38; then the operation of the belt 2 isstopped and the belt 3'is started (the belt 4 being already stationary)for a like part of a revolution of said shaft. The belt 4 is nextautomatically started, the belts 3 and 2 being stationary and the abovecycle is repeated. As a result, packages placed upon the conveyers 2, 3and 4 are delivered to the main conveyer 1 but congestion or jamming isrendered impossible because the conveyers 2, 3 and 4 make delivery oneat a time.

, Having described our invention what we claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is: j

1. In a device of the class described, a main conveyer, a plurality ofauxiliary conveyers arranged to deliver packages to said main conveyer,a shaft to drive said auxiliary c0n'veyers,-- clutches arranged on saidshaft and means for operating said clutches to periodically connect anddisconnect said auxiliary conveyers from said shaft.

2. In a device of the class described, a

1 main conveyer, a plurality of auxiliaryco nveyers arranged to deliverpackages to said main conveyer, a shaft to drive said auxiliaryconveyers, clutches arranged on said shaft to severally connect anddisconnect said auxiliary conveyers from said shaft and means foroperating said-clutches compris ing a cam shaft, cams on said shaft,means operatively connecting-saidcams with said clutches and means forrotatingsaidcams. V V 3. In a device of the class described, amainconveyer, a'plurality of auxiliary conveyers arranged to deliverpackages to said main conveyer, a shaft to drive said auxilia conveyers,clutches arranged on said sha to severally disconnect said auxiliaryconveyers from said shaft and means for operating said clutchescomprising'a cam shaft, cams on said shaft, levers adapted to beoperated by said cams, means operatively connecting said levels withsaid clutches and means for rotatin said cams.

4. In a deviceof t eclassdescribedya main conveyer, a plurality ofauxiliary conveyers arranged to deliver packages tosaid main conveyer, ashaft to drive said auxiliary conveyers, clutchesarranged on said shaftto disconnect said auxiliary conveyers from said shaft and means foroperating said clutches to alternately and severally connect anddisconnect said auxiliary. conveyers from said shaft comprising a frame,a power shaft journalled in said frame, a cam shaft journalled in saidframe, gearing connecting said cam and power shafts, cams on said camshaft and means operatively connecting said cams with said clutches.

5 In a device of the class described, a main conveyer, a plurality ofauxiliary power conveyers arranged at an angle to said main conveyer andadapted to deliver packages thereto, means for driving said conveyers,and means for connectin and disconnecting said driving means Wit saidauxiliary conveyers severally, whereby said last mentioned conveyers arecaused to move one at a time. v

6. In a device of the class described, a main oonveyer, a plurality ofauxiliary conveyers arranged at an angle to said main conveyer andadapted to deliver packages thereto, means for driving said mainconveyer, a single shaft arranged to drive said auxiliary conveyers andmeans for connecting and disconnecting said shaft with said auxiliaryconveyers'severa'lly whereby said last mentioned conveyers are caused tomove one at a time. 7

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto signed our names to thisspecification.

LLOYD G. TINGWALL. ARTHUR J. JOHNSON.

